NEW ARTICLE: Ana Côrtes, a researcher at the Centre for Research on Discretion and Paternalism (DIPA), and Juliana Jaramillo, from the Universidad de los Andes, have co-authored an article that analyses how legal opportunity structures (LOS) shape sex education policies and the rights of LGBTQ students in Brazil and Colombia. The article, titled “Legal Opportunity Structure and Legal Battles Over Sex Education and LGBTQ Students in Brazil and Colombia,” is published in the renowned Brazilian journal Revista Direito GV.
While both Brazil and Colombia are noted for rights recognition through judicial avenues, there are stark contrasts in how each country’s superior court has approached comprehensive sex education (CSE) and the rights of LGBTQ students. By examining cases from the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court and the Colombian Constitutional Court, the study identifies the actors involved in the legal mobilization around CSE and highlights how each country’s LOS—the framework of power, court accessibility, alliance systems, and legal framing—shaped distinct paths in their respective battles over CSE.
Key Findings on Legal Mobilization in CSE and LGBTQ Rights
The study applies a document-based analysis of court cases (N = 33, with 9 from Brazil and 24 from Colombia) and addresses the content of the cases and the decisions on them, with a particular focus on the actors who brought cases to the courts or intervened in them. In Colombia, the openness of the court to civil society actors (both to bring cases to the Constitutional Court and to participate in cases brought by other actors) has led to diversified yet uncoordinated court action. In Brazil, on the other hand, there are significant access barriers, which lead to a need for more coordinated action, with strategies aiming to overcome these barriers. These strategies also had the effect of making interventions more isomorphic and less diversified.
Moreover, the study reveals how the interplay between conflicts in the legislative arena and the courts has affected the legal battles in each of the countries. While in Colombia the court cases led to the recognition of rights that built on progressive legislative advances towards CSE, in Brazil, the focus of the legal battles had to be on resisting and overturning legislation contrary to CSE, created by conservative actors in the legislative power.
Implications for CSE, LGBTQ Rights, and Legal Opportunity Structures
This study emphasizes how the unique features of each country’s LOS, especially the accessibility of courts and the configuration of power, have strongly influenced legal mobilization efforts and legal battles around CSE.
Overall, the analysis highlights how social, political, and legal dynamics are intertwined in a mobilization context, as well as reveals that court accessibility not only guides the tactics of CSE advocates and opponents but also affects the contours of and the content of cases and interventions brought to courts.
The article is open access and can be found on this link.